Create your own Charitable Fund with SCF

Thinking of setting up a Charitable Trust to support Somerset charities? Creating a Charitable Fund through us is a simple and hassle-free alternative. You can decide how you’d like your funds to be spent, and our friendly and knowledgeable team will manage everything for you so you can simply enjoy the rewards of giving back.

Our unrivalled breadth and depth of local knowledge means we can help you understand local need and expertly direct your giving for maximum impact.

Guide to giving

Download our guide to giving for individuals and families.

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Our Charitable Fund service.

We offer free, impartial advice to anyone considering setting up a Charitable Fund or charitable trust. One of our friendly team will sit down with you to understand more about you, your values, your experience of charitable giving and the causes and places you’re interested in supporting.

We can help you involve your family or other loved ones in your giving, and you can give in your lifetime, through a business, or with a gift in your Will.

Our expert team will:

  • help you create a giving strategy based on your values and interests, guided by local need
  • carry out due diligence and make grants on your behalf
  • update you regularly on the difference you’ve made, including through your annual Impact Report
  • arrange opportunities to visit or get involved with the causes you support or help you remain completely anonymous in line with your wishes
  • invite you to our inspiring events to hear from local charities and meet other like-minded donors.

Choosing the right fund for you

We offer two kinds of Charitable Fund. Our team will help you decide which Fund is the best fit for you based on what you’d like to achieve with your giving.

We manage around 100 funds on behalf of local donors and awarded over £5 million of funding to more than 400 local charities last year.

Get in touch for free, impartial advice on giving

If you’d like to know more about giving through SCF, creating your own Charitable Fund, or would just like some advice on where to start, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

Kelly Hall (She/Her)
Philanthropy Director (Maternity Cover)
Working days: Mon – Thurs

Setting up your Charitable Fund

Setting up a Charitable Fund with Somerset Community Foundation couldn’t be simpler and can be done in days. You can choose the name of your fund and how you’d like funds to be spent.

You can set up your fund with cash, shares, property or investments and we are always happy to liaise with your financial planner, solicitor or other professional adviser to make the set-up process as easy as possible. We work with many local professional advisers so yours may already be familiar with our services.

 

Tax-effective giving

We’re a registered charity, which means you can benefit from tax relief when you donate through Somerset Community Foundation. If you pay tax at the higher rate, you can claim back the difference between the higher rates of tax (40% or 45%) and the basic rate (20%) on the total value of the donation. Funds can be set up quickly and held while you create a strategy for your giving – an ideal solution for those donating at the end of the tax year. We also benefit from Gift Aid, which increases the value of your donation by 25%.